Most solar panels on the market today are positioned from a horizontal orientation at a low angle, so the solar panel face is orthogonal to the sun. The invention described here teaches a unique solar collector array which can be used with an adjacent, concentrator of a complementary design, the objective of which is to increase the level of solar energy harvested while the collector is nominally vertically oriented, and depending on the application, usually maintaining visual transparency of the device.
A primary use of the device is to be employed as a solar collector component of a system of exterior building windows; this requires vertical placement, as windows are usually placed vertically on the building's exterior sides. Since the sun travels in an arc through the sky dependent upon latitude, the shape and configuration of collector elements need to be designed for installation orientation and geographic location. A stationary vertical concentrator system optimized to capture the maximum sunlight from the sun overhead, during all the sunlight hours, is best served by a concentrator consisting of asymmetric, aspheric lenses. The asymmetry is required to optimize the acceptance of sunlight from various latitudes when the concentrator is part of a vertical structure. See U.S. Pat. No. 8,174,776, for details of a suitable concentrator component for such a system.
The configuration, arrangement and complementary design details of a solar collector and an adjacent concentrator optimized to work in synergy is key to maximizing the total solar energy harvested as electricity from the system. The collector and the concentrator are generally designed to have corresponding elements to and work synergistically. Multiple embodiments are presented in the discussion and figures.
In a typical flat panel system, most often the roof or occasionally a side of a building of the building is covered with large solar panels, each of which contains a large number of photovoltaic cells. This results in an expensive system. Furthermore, even with substantial tax subsidies, large roof-mounted PV panels have been challenging to market because they have been perceived by consumers as unsightly and/or inappropriate for most building types.
Technologies used for the generation of solar power include building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar systems and ‘stand-alone’ concentrating photovoltaic (PV) systems. The viability of the ‘stand-alone’ concentrating PV systems has been hindered by the cost and the appearance of the large tracking structures required for their implementation. This excludes them from application to sites that would most benefit from their energy production. That is, the large and unsightly appearance of the structures substantially limits their potential for widespread application to building properties. Furthermore, stand-alone concentrating PV systems suffer from wind loading effects due to their large size.
Buildings are the largest consumers of energy worldwide and among the least efficient. Tall buildings often have small roof areas limiting the useful energy that can be produced by rooftop solutions. Many BIPV systems are relatively expensive and inefficient and have long cost payback periods. According to the United States Department of Energy, building operations account for up to 39% of the country's total energy consumption and 70% of its power plant generated electricity, while 34% of this energy is lost through poor building efficiency. Not surprisingly, the American Solar Energy Society estimates that about 43% of US and 9% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions result from the energy services required to service these buildings. Leveraging PV solar power in the design of energy efficient and self-powered Green Buildings leads to big payoffs in meeting environmental regulations, reducing costs, and enhancing real estate value.